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Everything posted by VonS
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First Eagles If You Really Need A Gunsight
VonS replied to yubba's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2
Interesting stuff gents...I'd ideally like to remove the awful magnifying Aldis gunsight on the Se5a in FE2....historically I don't think the Aldis magnified anything...but really I'd like to remove the whole thing and just leave the iron sights in place...probably not possible if it's baked into the lod files for the Se5a. Happy flying, Von S -
First Eagles If You Really Need A Gunsight
VonS replied to yubba's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2
Nice find. I don't mind it it's in green. if you really want a black one, there's always the following ini tweak: http://combatace.com/topic/16272-ini-tweaks-and-changes/?p=723242 Although, that one only gives you a black outline for your target circle - no dot in the middle. I use it on the Fokk. D.II an D.III types since it helps with aiming. For the rifle-armed, one-seater Parasol L posted in the armed observers thread, the bullets leave the plane about two centimeters above the center of the engine cowling...best way to test the aim on that one is to do a bit of ground strafing (haven't tested with a gun sight on that one since it ruins the "historical" inaccuracy of rifle pot shots coming from aircraft). Isn't the modability of FE2 great? That's what I like about this sim, and a lot of other things too. Happy flying, Von S -
Hello gents', Here's one more modified data ini....an early (one-seater) version of the Parasol L. Get close behind your enemy and fire your rifle. Very fun but difficult to get any kills this way. Make a copy of your one-seater Parasol L folder and rename it to MSTypeLe. Then copy over the data ini and general ini files from my folder, with the same name (and delete the original data ini and ini files)...works great for the Eastern and Western theaters. Will include this with the ver. 8.9 update of the FM pack, and will also include the tweaks for the Farman type 7 (with the observer in the back), also for the early Fokker M.7 - to round out our rifle-armed aircraft. Stats. for the type: top speed 113kph climbs best between 75 and 85kph at about 3 m/s (but can be climbed in the 60s kph too, stalls below about 60kph) take off is best at around 90kph slightly lower ceiling and MaxG rating than on the Lewis-armed one-seater version of the Parasol Happy flying, Von S
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Your values are close to mine, my overall engine output being a bit lower but I compensated with higher rpms, and my maxcontrolspeed values are lower by about 5 meters/sec. And I agree - I still find the type somewhat sloppy in turns. Personally I don't like flying it - I prefer the Nieu. 23/24 types (the best of the Nieu. types, probably historically too, if you're gentle in them when getting out of a steep dive and appreciate their great climbing ability). I might come back to the Nieu. 28 type in a future update, but I want first to get to some models here on Combat Ace that I haven't touched before. Happy flying, Von S
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Only saw this now...the Nieu. 28 is definitely a type that was/is hard to tame and get to historical levels in FE2. My response is over here: http://combatace.com/topic/87403-tweaked-flight-models-and-realism-pack-for-fe2/?p=731406 Happy flying, Von S
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Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Hi Yubba, Didn't see your post until now.... To make turns faster on the Nieu. 28, I recommend higher max/min deflection values for the rudder. I left mine, in my tweaked data ini for the type, to +/-30. Something like +/- 35 might do the trick, also increasing the control rate often helps (I left the control rate at 5.0 for the type). For earlier war aircraft, control rates of 4.0 work well, and about 3.0 for very early types. Increasing the maxcontrolspeed entries also works well, for rudder, elevator, and aileron values, if you find the type sluggish in turns. Are you flying an unmodded data ini for the 28 or did you try my tweaks for it? I managed to get mine to the historical top speed of about 196 kph for the Nieu. 28 - it was even worse in turns in unmodded form, and stalled easily. Here are my values for the flightcontrol section: [FlightControl] StallSpeed=18.06 CruiseSpeed=49.00 ClimbSpeed=43.55 CornerSpeed=43.34 LandingSpeed=19.80 MaxG=5.00 MaxSpeedSL=54.44 MachLimit=0.192 PitchDamper=0.40 RollDamper=0.15 YawDamper=0.0 And the engine output value I'm using is: SLPowerDry=137311.979 Prop rpm values in my file (the modded one) are: SlowPropRPM=400 FastPropRPM=1400 MaxPropRPM=1900 IdlePropRPM=500 Several hundred rpms higher than historical so that I could keep the engine output down to historical levels, otherwise the engine output would be too high with lower (historical) rpms - always a juggling act trying to get everything right in the data inis. The engine output and prop rpms of course don't mean much for the maneuverability in this case...better to increase the maxcontrolspeed values for the lift surfaces. Happy flying, Von S- 195 replies
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I suppose I could drop the top speed to about 145kph in the data ini for the Halb. D.5, and make it about 30-50kg heavier than the D.5 - this would then approximate the behavior of the D.II/III types - and maybe if a new skin could be dropped into its folder - this would be acceptable. I am thinking of eventually tweaking the Halb. D.III (also making a D.II data ini from it) - from that other site, A-Team's, but if many users don't like those models - I will keep my focus on the models posted here on CombatAce...no use in wasting too much time with those, with the exception of some very badly needed ones like the Pfalz. D.III series, and the Gotha bomber...at any rate it'll take me a while to get to the A-Team stuff since there are still many models I haven't touched on Combat Ace for FE2.... Happy flying, Von S
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Not a movie....but here's another one, the late 1970s BBC series, 'Wings.' https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeagipoZmyfk2R9o0G_f2s_S0wHcG0KaZ Happy flying, Von S
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For an even more aggressive observer with a rifle, go under the "// Crew -----" section of the data ini for the early Parasol (posted above), and under [Gunner] paste in the following info., overriding the previous, relevant entries: PitchAngleRate=40 MaxPitch=70 MinPitch=-30 DefaultPitchAngle=5 YawLimited=TRUE YawAngleRate=15 This gives more frequent shots, and deflection shots too - I got a little too close and then this happened. Happy flying, Von S
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Hello Gents, As a followup to the suggestions here, particularly Whiteknight's beautiful "hack and slash" mod - can now confirm that it works wonderfully. Rifle-armed observers now take occasional shots at me. I was also inspired by the "early" Parasol L (two-seater) that Whiteknight included in his package - so I've now tweaked the FM for it (will include this with a ver. 8.9 update of the FM pack...but here it is already for your flying pleasure). Make a copy of your Morane LAO folder (two-seater with Lewis gun up front and another for the observer), rename the folder to MSTypeLAOe, and copy over the four files from my folder with the same name, into yours (you may also delete the old general ini file, data ini, and the hangar and loading files from the folder that you duplicated and renamed as indicated). Stats. for the early Morane L (two-seater): top speed 112 kph take offs are best around 90 kph climbs best between 85 and 95 kph at about 2.5 m/s stalls if climbing at less than 80 kph also about 10kg lighter than the later, armed version slightly lower ceiling and MaxG rating for it than on LAO type Don't forget to install Stephen1918's pilots and also his rifle-armed observers, into your Pilots folder, for everything to work. Here are a couple of pics of me trailing the Parasol, and then getting some rifle-damage to my wing. The rifle blast emanates from the observer's head but I like it. Wish I was able to take a snapshot of that. And the early Parasol Type L (two-seater): Happy flying, Von S P.S. To use this "unarmed" type on the Eastern front, change service dates from about Oct. of 1914 to June/July of 1915 (educated guess).
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Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Hello FE2 flyers and those following this thread, Here's something you might want to cut and paste into your data inis for the Morane Type H...I will get around to uploading it with the ver. 8.9 update of the FM pack - but I stumbled on this yesterday. If you are using one of Stephen1918's new pilots, use the following position coordinates (otherwise his feet stick out of the bottom of the fuselage, behind the engine cowling): // Crew ----- [Pilot] Position=0.0,-0.07,0.45 Also, the Type H is unable to take off under its own power (while the AI in the type takes off nicely). For the fix, cut-and-paste the following values over your values in the "// Landing Gears -----" section: [LeftMainGear] SystemType=LANDING_GEAR Retractable=FALSE DragArea=0.65 ModelNodeName=LeftGear ReverseModelOrientation=FALSE ShockAnimationID=-1 ShockStroke=0.05 SpringFactor=1.3 DampingFactor=1.0 WheelNodeName=LeftWheel RotationAxis=X-Axis RollingRadius=0.35 CastoringWheel=FALSE RollingCoefficient=-0.049 MaxLoadFactor=6.0 [RightMainGear] SystemType=LANDING_GEAR Retractable=FALSE DragArea=0.65 ModelNodeName=RightGear ReverseModelOrientation=True ShockAnimationID=-1 ShockStroke=0.05 SpringFactor=1.3 DampingFactor=1.0 WheelNodeName=RightWheel RotationAxis=X-Axis RollingRadius=0.35 CastoringWheel=FALSE RollingCoefficient=-0.049 MaxLoadFactor=6.0 [TailGear] SystemType=LANDING_GEAR Retractable=FALSE IsSkid=TRUE HideGearNode=FALSE ModelNodeName=TailSkid ShockAnimationID=-1 ShockStroke=0.3 SpringFactor=0.3 DampingFactor=1.0 ContactPoint=0.0000,-4.56,-0.75 RollingCoefficient=0.40 MaxLoadFactor=6.0 I tweaked the springfactor for the tail skid, reduced the rolling coefficient for the tail skid too, but the most important part was changing the rolling coefficient numbers for the left and right wheels to -0.049. That's right: a slightly negative number to help ground roll "get started." Don't change this value since it will be a problem for the AI: values of -0.05 (and higher negative values) will create a situation where you won't go below 1 or 2 kph even with engine off; while values of -0.04 to about -0.048 are acceptable for the player-flown Type H - they're no good for the AI since it will then do a "very wide" circle taxing around the airfield, before taking off. With a value of -0.049, you can take off, and the AI will do a short-diameter circle beside you or around you - and will then take off nicely. The trick is to pull the stick all the way back as you accelerate - once you pass about 30kph the Type H will "unglue" itself from the ground and start accelerating adequately. Keep the stick back and ascend at about 90kph. Happy flying, Von S P.S. Never modify the "DragArea" values for the left and right gears since this ruins the overall FM by increasing or decreasing the top speed of the aircraft type (making it unhistorical).- 195 replies
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Hi Trotski, Bortdafarm also has a single-bay Fokker B.II (the one used by the Austrians on the Italian front, and to a lesser extent on the Eastern front), but I recommend my FM tweak for the type - located in the ver. 8.0 update folder under the Italian and Eastern theaters - otherwise the type is impossible to fly in FE2...it was historically more difficult to fly than the D.II single-seater that the Germans preferred...two bay or not two bay, that is the question - here's the link to Bortdafarm's model: http://combatace.com/files/file/4643-fokkerbii/ Happy flying, Von S
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Hello Gents, Here are the steps to take if interested in installing FE2 on a Mac. The procedure is similar to "bottling" of CFS3.1, the ETO and PTO expansion packs, also WOFF ue for the Mac, and of course RB3D, but a little "simpler" with FE2 (and RB3D) since less winetricks are required...the process is at any rate a slow one and requires patience, but is convenient if you want to have everything running on the same operating system. STEP ONE: go to https://sourceforge.net/projects/wineskin/ and download the latest wineskin winery (ver. 1.7 as of this writing) via the green "download" button there (for Mac OS vers. 10.6 to 10.12) [EDIT: if running Mac OS 10.13 or later, recommended instead is to install the "unofficial" WineSkin-for-Mac located at https://github.com/Gcenx/WineskinServer] STEP TWO: double-click on the program; in the menu that opens click on the plus sign to the left of "new engines available," and in the list that then opens choose WS8Wine1.5.1, download it, and then - when you're back in the main menu - choose "create new blank wrapper" (now wait about 3-4 minutes for your Mac to make the custom wrapper; once finished, the wrapper will be placed in an Applications folder that has been made inside your user folder on OS X and/or macOS) STEP THREE: go to the WineSkin wrapper that's just been made and double-click on it; in the window that opens, choose "set screen options"; in the window that then opens choose "override" instead of automatic, and choose "rootless (windowed)," then "virtual desktop at" (whatever resolution suits you), then "use these settings" instead of force normal windows; once happy with your choices, click on "done" at the bottom of that window STEP FOUR: back on the main menu, choose "advanced"; in the window that opens click on "tools"; this will then open another window in which you should click on "winetricks"; in the window that then opens, type in d3d in the search window at the top, then click to expand the "dlls" menu that shows up in the list below your search, and look for d3dx11_43, and click in the box to the left of it, to select it; now click on "run" located towards the bottom of that top screen of the window you're currently in, and let it install the winetrick; once the process finishes it will say "done" in the text window that is visible in the bottom half of that same window; finally, click on the "close" button at the very bottom of the window, and you're taken back to the "wineskin advanced" menu (close that advanced menu by clicking on the close button in its menubar) STEP FIVE: double-click on the wrapper once again and choose "install software" in the main menu; then "choose setup executable" in the next window that opens and locate your exe file for FE2 that you bought (usually called setup.exe or install.exe); now let the wrapper do its thing to install the game STEP SIX: once installed, the wrapper will go back to the main menu and you can click "quit" (it may also prompt you to locate the program before it drops to the main menu, the program in this case being the exe file of the game that was just installed - best thing at this point is just to leave this alone and close that window, if it doesn't drop to the main menu automatically) STEP SEVEN: once the wrapper has quit, don't double-click on it but "right-click" it and choose the option in the popup menu on OS X and/or macOS that says "show package contents" (this will open the wrapper's folder and should list something like a contents folder, the alias to its c drive, and an app/icon called WineSkin); double-click on the app named WineSkin and you will open the main menu window again, of the wrapper, and choose "advanced" STEP EIGHT: under the advanced menu, to the right of the box called Windows EXE (that contains a file path), click on "Browse"; this will open up your finder on OS X and/or macOS, and then you can scroll into the "c drive" of the wrapper into which you've just installed FE2; in "c drive," look for "Program Files," scroll into there and look for "ThirdWire," scroll into "ThirdWire" and look for "First Eagles 2," scroll into there and look for "FirstEagles2.exe" and choose that (click "choose"); then you're back in the WineSkin advanced menu with the proper file path for the game's exe now listed in the box near the top of the window (while you're there you might want to give a name for your freshly created Mac program in the "menubar name" box, something like First Eagles 2 or FE2, and also, later, don't forget to rename your wrapper/app to First Eagles 2, for consistency, if you haven't done so already) STEP NINE: now close that advanced menu window, and double-click the program you just created (not the WineSkin icon in the window that popped open when you right-clicked and chose "show package contents," but the actual, main wrapper that is in the custom Applications folder that was created in your user folder on OS X and/or macOS) - see if the game works, and if all is well, then double-click the WineSkin logo that is visible in the window once you right-click the main app wrapper to "show package contents"; once you're in the WineSkin menu again, click on "screen options" one more time and choose "fullscreen" instead of "rootless (windowed)," also choose your desired resolution in the box below that and leave the other options at 24 bit for color depth and 0 sec. for switch pause; all the other options there should be left as they are STEP TEN: since you've now run the game successfully (in windowed mode), you will find a ThirdWire/First Eagles 2 folder located in your Documents folder (of your user folder under OS X and/or macOS); in that folder you can find, under "ThirdWire/First Eagles 2/Controls," a Default.INI file that contains the keyboard and joystick controls for the game; open this ini file in TextEdit and modify the keys to your liking (also, don't forget to tweak the joystick sensitivity slider within the game's menu too, to get the joystick to behave as you like); and one more thing - it's best to set the game resolution, within the game's menu, to the same resolution that you have set within the "screen options" of your wineskin wrapper - for everything to behave as smoothly as possible STEP ELEVEN: all user mods from CombatAce should be installed into the relevant folders of user/Documents/ThirdWire/First Eagles 2 on your Mac - not into the First Eagles 2 folder that is buried in the c drive of the WineSkin wrapper into which you installed the game's exe and the related files NOTE: Von S makes no guarantee that following such steps will recreate the magic of First Eagles 2 on your Mac, but careful following of the directions listed above should work in 99% of cases NOTE 2: the game can of course be run in windowed mode, as indicated in the earlier steps above....at say 1600 x 900...but why keep such a lovely game windowed - full screen is better for it, but you might want to keep the resolution at 1600 x 900 on lower-end systems, for better frame rates (Red Baron 3D on the other hand is better windowed at something like 1280 x 1024 - full screen is hit-and-miss with RB3D in WineSkin, but the situation may improve since WINE is always being improved) Happy flying, Von S
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Armed Observers for First Eagles
VonS replied to Stephen1918's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Excellent, thank you for this! Von S -
Looks good...I also didn't like the cluttered look so went for something minimalistic in my ver. 8.0 update of the FMs (for the HUD) - it's also possible to change the settings from within the game menu (for no-hud or maximum hud guidance)...but for some odd reason we First Eagles fans (and I include myself in that group) like to edit everything in the INI files directly...that's the beauty of this sim, that it's very mod-able and flexible....it can be sim light or hardcore flight sim, depending on preferences. Happy flying, Von S ----- // Von S modified huddata with smaller label boxes and triangles, different color for enemies, and different info box font and size, also some hud settings turned off for greater realism and directional cones removed, May 30, 2016, included with ver 8.0 of FM updates [Debug] DisplayDebug=FALSE TextFontName=Verdana TextSize=12 [smallLabelFont] TextFontName=Verdana TextSize=8 [HUDLabels] EnableLabels=TRUE LabelFriendlyAir=TRUE LabelFriendlyGround=FALSE LabelEnemyAir=TRUE LabelEnemyGround=FALSE [MapLabels] EnableLabels=TRUE LabelFriendlyAir=FALSE LabelFriendlyGround=TRUE LabelEnemyAir=FALSE LabelEnemyGround=FALSE [infoDisplay] // BackgroundImage=TextBackground.tga BottomLeftPosition=0.01,0.985 BottomRightPosition=0.99,0.985 DisplayWidth=0.09 VerticalBorder=0.002 HorizontalBorder=0.004 EnemyTargetColor=0.0,1.0,1.0,1.0 FriendlyTargetColor=0.0,0.0,1.0,1.0 UnknownTargetColor=1.0,1.0,0.0,1.0 WaypointColor=1.0,1.0,0.0,1.0 TextFile=HUDText.str NormalColor=1.0,1.0,1.0,1.0 WarningColor1=1.0,1.0,0.0,1.0 WarningColor2=1.0,0.0,0.0,1.0 AGLAltStart=100.00 AGLAltWarning=25.00 EnglishUnitUseMPH=TRUE [Map] MapDisplayLabels=FALSE [Messages] ShowMessages=TRUE SystemMessageOnly=FALSE [Display001] DisplayType=DIRECTOR ObjectType=TARGET_ENEMY ConeSize=5 BoxSize=5 BoxType=TRIANGLE BoxColor=0.0,1.0,1.0,0.75 // ConeModelName=redcone [Display002] DisplayType=DIRECTOR ObjectType=TARGET_FRIENDLY ConeSize=5 BoxSize=5 BoxType=TRIANGLE BoxColor=0.0,0.0,1.0,0.75 // ConeModelName=bluecone [Display003] DisplayType=DIRECTOR ObjectType=NEXT_WAYPOINT ConeSize=5 BoxSize=5 BoxType=SQUARE BoxColor=1.0,1.0,0.0,0.75 // ConeModelName=whitecone
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Yes, the best place to start with FE/FE2 downloads is at this link, nicely organized by category: http://combatace.com/files/category/840-first-eagles-wwi-and-early-years-1914-1920/ Happy flying, Von S
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Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Hi Von Oben, Thank you for that link. I've usually stuck to using the "GUNNER" variant entry for the weapons/gun section in the aircraft data inis, for gunners in two seaters - although I did modify the accuracy of the gunner and non-gunner equivalents, for the same gun types, in the big update pack ver. 8.0. Have now checked further into the guns folder (in objects), for example, for the Lewis MK II data ini variants - and I have the same rate of fire for the non-gunner, gunner, and hgunner variants - the difference is that I have an accuracy rating of 40 for the gunner data ini, and 70 for non-gunner and hgunner variants. Considering that I call up the gunner variant data ini for the gun in my data inis for two-seaters (for the observer) - as of my ver. 8.0 big update - this may hold the answer, simply to increase the accuracy rating to 70 in the gunner data ini for all gun variants in the guns folder (I believe that the default value for gunners was even lower, something like 25 if I remember...and I increased it to 40....a further increase may be required...but I think that higher values for pitch and yaw, as per Mike Dora's suggestions, are probably also required to get rid of sloppy gunners completely). I don't use the "hgunner" values anywhere, by the way, in my data ini mods for the planes - don't know whether that refers to heavy gunner, human gunner (from the multi-player days of FE/FEgold), or something else. Happy flying, Von S- 195 replies
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Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Hi Von Oben, Glad to hear that increasing the VolumeStructurePoint value in the aircraft object ini file solved the problem - that is a much simpler solution than re-tweaking the previously tweaked MaxG values per aircraft data ini file. I will therefore proceed to implement the MaxG values for lift surfaces, for ver. 8.9 of the update pack, for the other models not touched in relation to MaxG values so far. I'm happy with the values for the MaxG surfaces, and the damage rating tweaks, done so far (in my attempt to get them historical) - so the VolumeStructurePoint value is a good, simple and consistent one to alter - to get more robustness out of all types, across the board - and to offset the fragility of some aircraft types. I think the DH.2, for example, is a little too tough to knock down in its current form (especially with high VolumeStructurePoint numbers) - probably it's structural factor values are too high (will look into this for a next update and reduce those numbers if necessary, to make the DH.2 a bit more fragile...plus I haven't yet implemented the MaxG tweaks on it either). Haven't ever bothered tweaking gunner accuracy on the two-seaters, but Peter01, with his tweaks, made the gunners less lethal. To go back to the original, more accurate values, use the following numbers in the data inis (for two seaters)...eventually I will get around to including the more accurate numbers in a future update of the FM pack: PitchAngleRate=40 YawAngleRate=60 (the Peter01 values were 25 and 32) Also, Mike Dora recommends even higher values (...PM him to get his recommended numbers if you like, for single- and double-gun Scarff mounts, and values he finds accurate for pre-Scarff mountings). The gunners might not become more accurate, but they do put up a more aggressive fight with higher pitch and yaw numbers, from his research into the matter. Happy flying, Von S- 195 replies
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Why Ain't We Flyin First Eagle Online ?
VonS replied to yubba's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2
Hello friend, Here's a link to the thread that discusses why we aren't flying FE/FE2 online: http://combatace.com/topic/88806-thoughts-on-multiplayer-in-fe2/ Happy flying (offline), Von S P.S. Multiplayer is available in Red Baron 3D (if you want something that is light on your hardware...free german copies of RBII can be found on the internet and then patched to RB3D). Wings Over Flanders Fields is also single-player (offline), like FE2. The only other one is Rise of Flight (which caters to online play) - but that requires a fancy system and a high-end graphics card to run it. -
Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Hi karl2c, Glad you're enjoying the posts. Here's a detailed road plan for those interested of where I'd like to go with future updates. Ver. 8.9 - rolling out of the MaxG tweaks to the rest of the aircraft not touched so far in relation to MaxG changes (after more testing of MaxG tweaks as suggested by Von Oben above) / new types to be included: Roland D.6a, Fokker D.III (late, the aileron version), Avro 504c, Airco DH.5 / also further tweaking of the general ai ini and will include the moving cloud mods already posted separately (might go back to a Nov. 2016 version of the general ai file, but will test the current one some more in early encounters) Ver. 9.0 - last big tweak for the models included on Combat Ace / will include Halberstadt CL.IV, Hannover CL.II and CL.III, Albatros C.3, also the Vickers FB.5 (gun bus) Ver. 9.5 - tweaking of the following Central Powers models from A-Team / Gotha G.IV, Halberstadt D.3 (might modify this for a Halb. D.2 as well), Pfalz D.3 and D.3a, Pfalz. Dr.1, Pfalz D.8, Pfalz D.12, Siemens-Schuckert D.3, also the Roland Walfisch Ver. 10.0 - tweaking of the following Entente aircraft from A-Team / Handley Page 0/400, Bristol Scout (C1), Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Snipe, possibly the Spad 7 that can be player-flown, and possibly the Sopwith Triplane (although Stephen1918 I hope may have a nicer Tripe in his bag somewhere...the one from A-Team has a prop that's too small historically) Happy flying, Von S- 195 replies
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Tweaked Flight Models and Realism Pack for FE2
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2 File Announcements
Hi Von Oben, Yes, the planes now have to be flown more gently, many of the types do at any rate. I'm glad to hear that the AI are now sometimes breaking up after being damaged, and while in evasive maneuvers. I also noticed this happening on occasion with the Morane Bullet, that a wing would crack in evasive maneuvers - such a pleasure to see that for a difference. Which types are you finding too fragile now...I am assuming that the Nieuports are perhaps the most fragile? Let me know what types are the most fragile...this will probably require a minor tweak either to the MaxG values (the general rule to increase MaxG ratings to lift surfaces by about a value of 0.2 should do the trick, to make them slightly more robust - also possible is to leave the MaxG tweaks alone but to increase the structural factor rating for lift surfaces by a value of approximately 2.0 - or a combination of the two tweaks should increase robustness adequately). I've been a bit busy with real work lately but hope to get back into some work on a ver. 8.9 update in about a month - I would like to roll the MaxG tweaks into the rest of the aircraft that I've updated over the last year or two, and to include another three or four new types - but perhaps some more tweaking to find a "golden middle" is needed for the MaxG tweaks. This of course is an entertaining and old question: just how fragile were the WWI types...I have read posts suggesting that the models in RoF are too fragile...WoFF I've only in the last few days managed to "bottle" successfully into a stable WineSkin (on OS X) - will compare and post comments once I've done some WoFFing (this was a long and torturous process since I also tested CFS3 and the ETO and PTO expansion packs in WineSkin...before bottling WoFF...but it all works now...if anyone wants directions on how to bottle these things successfully in WineSkin on an Apple/Mac....PM me). The short version of it is as follows: RB3D - Wine9 1.7.7 FE2 - Wine8 1.5.1 (although I want to re-bottle FE2 down the road as well, to see if I can get campaigns going in it) CFS3 - Wine9 1.5.25(AMDspeedhack) PTO expansion - same as above ETO expansion - same as above WoFF - Wine9 1.7.7 I would like to get FE2 as realistic as possible so that we become the "best of breed" WWI flight sim (although I think we're already close - from what I've noticed so far, flying seems the most "natural" in FE2...it requires more work to fly many of the types...hands need to be on the stick all the time usually...and also there is a nice sense that one is "floating" often in the types in FE2...sort of like a combination of the ReDux FM tweaks and the Greybeard FMs done for RB3D...). Happy flying, Von S- 195 replies
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Did some "high-altitude" flying recently in the Fokk. E.Ia over the Palestine map with my flight after a successful mission, Jan. of '16, and sporting the new Trotskii skins for the Eindeckers. Managed to take a few snapshots of everything, with the simplified cloud/environsys setup (from the 8.6 FM update pack) that's good for higher frame rates on low-end systems - and I think it still looks good. What a flexible and beautiful flight sim. Happy flying, Von S
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Moving clouds and different wind strengths and patterns
VonS posted a topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2
Hello fellow flyers, Thought I'd open a new thread for this topic...was studying the environmentsys.ini file further this weekend and stumbled upon a few interesting discoveries that help with realism in FE/FE2. Weather speed and patterns for custom missions and campaigns should be tweaked in the relevant MSN files for missions/campaigns, but for single missions here are some good values to use to increase challenges and realism in game. It also gives slowly moving clouds/cloud patterns - set the time factor to x8 while parked at an airfield to notice this, although at windy settings it is noticeable at normal time factor (x1) too. I'm including four zipped environmentsys.ini files, for no wind, light wind, moderate wind, and strong wind patterns. Make a backup of your default environmentsys.ini file before installing. These files can be used with the weather/cloud mods I included with the ver. 8.6 update of the FM pack (to improve frame rates on low-end graphics cards). If you are using the Panama Red environmentsys.ini, make a backup of the original, then make four copies of the file and paste in the following settings. For no wind, include under [Weather]: WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=1.39 And under [baseWindSection]: BaseWindSpeed=0.0 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=3.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=18.06 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=36.12 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=6.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=22.22 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=44.44 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=12.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=26.39 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=52.78 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=20.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=21.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=30.56 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=61.12 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=15.0 For light wind, use: [Weather] WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=11.11 [baseWindSection] BaseWindSpeed=4.17 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=3.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=25.00 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=50.00 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=6.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=27.78 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=55.56 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=12.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=33.33 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=66.66 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=20.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=21.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=38.89 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=77.78 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=15.0 For moderate wind, use: [Weather] WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=16.67 [baseWindSection] BaseWindSpeed=6.94 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=5.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=30.56 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=61.12 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=50.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=8.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=33.33 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=66.66 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=15.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=41.67 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=83.34 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=26.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=45.83 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=91.66 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=25.0 For strong wind, use: [Weather] WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 ContrailAlt=9200 WindGustingAmount=22.22 [baseWindSection] BaseWindSpeed=11.11 BaseWindDirection=280 WindChange[01].ChangeTime=5.5 WindChange[01].ChangeChance=80 WindChange[01].SpeedAmount=36.11 WindChange[01].SpeedRate=72.22 WindChange[01].DirectionAmount=70.0 WindChange[01].DirectionRate=50.0 WindChange[02].ChangeTime=8.2 WindChange[02].ChangeChance=60 WindChange[02].SpeedAmount=40.28 WindChange[02].SpeedRate=80.56 WindChange[02].DirectionAmount=50.0 WindChange[02].DirectionRate=40.0 WindChange[03].ChangeTime=15.3 WindChange[03].ChangeChance=40 WindChange[03].SpeedAmount=47.22 WindChange[03].SpeedRate=94.44 WindChange[03].DirectionAmount=35.0 WindChange[03].DirectionRate=30.0 WindChange[04].ChangeTime=26.1 WindChange[04].ChangeChance=30 WindChange[04].SpeedAmount=51.39 WindChange[04].SpeedRate=102.78 WindChange[04].DirectionAmount=25.0 WindChange[04].DirectionRate=25.0 The weather alt. value is typical of max. height of weather kites (2000-3000 meters) and weather balloons (3000-4500 meters) of the WWI period. 500 hPa (of modern weather forecasts) is at 5500 meters, 1000 hPa is at sea-level or slightly below ground depending on terrain. Typical WWI measurements would be to about 400 or 420 hPa if you look at the ceilings of the kites and balloons, which is about 4600 m alt. Weather "thickness" (a confusing entry that took me a while to figure out) is thus distance between 420 hPa and 1000 hPa, with the last zero removed from the value, giving 460. (For WWII and jet-age, use higher values for thickness, basically the weather alt. value with the final zero taken off, such as 1000 thickness for 10000 meters alt., 600 for 6000 meters alt. and so on.) Some of the effects of the modded environmentsys files are subtle, but improve realism. I did a few more ground loops than usual in a Fokk. E.IIa while trying to take off, with the moderate wind settings, especially if blipping the rotary engine off too frequently or not frequently enough - perhaps the result of wind gusts. Also, at moderate and strong wind settings, I found it more difficult to hit anything in a dogfight. You'll also notice that at higher wind settings, archie bursts and smoke trails, also engine exhausts tend to drift from time to time, or have zig-zag patterns. Will include these mods with a ver. 8.9 update of the FM pack. Happy flying, Von S- 4 replies
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Moving clouds and different wind strengths and patterns
VonS replied to VonS's topic in Thirdwire - First Eagles 1&2
Hi Von Oben, Glad to hear that you like the moving clouds idea - for the basewinddirection, I chose 280 degrees since that fits well with the dominant wind (westerly), blowing from the west, slightly north and from the west - that was to the advantage of German planes and a problem for Entente flyers trying to get back to their lines after a fight. The direction works well for most of the top-half of the globe, including the Eastern front. Here's a link to wind degrees: http://www.uni.edu/storm/Wind%20Direction%20slide.pdf Prevailing westerlies, from what I've read, should also be dominant for the mid-east theater since this accounts for the way that sand dunes/waves are whipped up - and most storms would be from the west too (with top speeds exceeding, sometimes, 30 or 40 m/s - as a base speed). Easterly winds also work for the mid-east theater (the Palestine map), but should be used less frequently, something like a 90 degree wind (for the base wind direction, from the east), and a base wind speed around 1.39 m/s with gusts, under the weather section, to about 10 m/s. Was testing the modified environmentsystem.ini files further and I'm happy so far with the modified results (using the latest tweaks suggested in my previous posts above). Parked on the airfield, I see nice, realistic cloud movement now - not too rough, but not too subtle either so as to remain unnoticeable. Was also testing the MSN files for custom missions and those seem to benefit from the same tweaks applied to the environsys.ini files. The relevant section of the MSN files (maybe the same type is used for campaigns too - didn't test for campaigns), is the following one: [Weather] WeatherType=SCATTERED WeatherAlt=4000.0 WeatherThickness=500.0 FogAmount=0.6 ContrailAlt=8000.0 StartWindDirection=180 StartWindSpeed=2.57222 WindGustingAmount=2.57222 I've modified that section in the MSN file to: [Weather] WeatherType=SCATTERED (this one can be changed of course to the weather you want) WeatherAlt=4600 WeatherThickness=460 // FogAmount=0.6 (I've edited this out, it can also be deleted - experiments with this did strange things with the clouds, sometimes putting them at ground or below ground level, better to let the fog amount entries in environsys.ini deal with this) ContrailAlt=9200 // StartWindDirection=180 (not needed, better to use basewinddirection in basewindsection) // StartWindSpeed=2.57222 (I edited this out because manipulation of the numbers would give ridiculously fast-moving clouds, better to use basewindspeed in the relevant section) WindGustingAmount=11.11 (this is a gust to 40 kph, can be modified of course, should always be kept under Weather section, never under basewindsection since there it has no effect from what I've been able to test) I included, in the MSN file, one of the tweaked [baseWindSection] entries included in the posts above. This then gives me more realistic cloud movement for custom-made missions too. Might be of use for tweaking campaign weather too, to follow this pattern of weather tweaks. What's also good about these tweaks is that they give more dynamic, moving smoke for burning trucks, also from ship smoke stacks. Happy flying, Von S- 4 replies
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Siege of Tsingtao?? Oct./Nov. of 1914?? Will require some Etrich Taubes for the Germans and Farman type 7 and 11's for the Japanese...I don't think there's a Taube available in the downloads...might be way off with my guess but I'm imagining some exotic locations for FE2 today. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yFCqwAG0QXg/VGDjcm4-0KI/AAAAAAAAGCo/eaVlRUNtxgw/s1600/Tsingtao,%2Bmap.gif https://davidderrick.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/qingdao_dot.png Happy flying, Von S
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